Deceptive Punk Music
Offline I went to see a 4 band punk show last night. When I walked in, a band was playing that I had never heard before. So I stood in the corner and observed. I saw people I knew in the audience nodding to the beat and some really getting into it. A friend comes up to me and says that the singer is a youth pastor and he married her husband and herself. He is her husband's best friend. Then she said that nobody here knows that all their songs are about God and added that she didn't want me to tell anyone. The name is ischemia which is some kind of disease you get when you sin according to the bible.
Now the reason I wanted to share this with you because when I started going to shows @ 17 years ago, I went because religion was shoved down my throat everywhere I went. I went to get away from the bullshit society. The fake personalities on teevee and all around.
It was so typical that my friend say "Don't tell anyone" since most of the people there would've probably rejected it. But they had the crusty "look" and the girl screaming vocals with the guy singing lyrics. It "looked" like punk rock. I guess I will just have to stop being a punk rocker today since it doesn't make any sense to me anymore...
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That sucks. I go to alot of local metal shows and I'd be pretty pissed if I got fed the second coming of stryper. Although, I don't know how many youth pastors would start death metal bands.
(youth pastor listening to Cannibal Corpse) "You know, all this low, demonic growling is great, but it would be just perfect with a little jesus."
Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine
You would be suprised how many "christian" heavy metal bands there are. I went to a local metal show recently( at a local church[that should have been my first clue]) and they had 12 good bands but i started talking to some of bands after and they were telling my that i was going to hell and should repent.(my friend who is a christian invited me cuz he had organized it, then decieded to try and use the bands to convert me back to christianity.) I have not talked to that friend since. He was soo happy when he found out that my car broke down the day i was going to go see GWAR!!!! im stilled pissed bout that...
Ew.
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Ischemia
Rather than in hypoxia, a more general term denoting a shortage of oxygen (usually a result of lack of oxygen in the air being breathed), ischemia is an absolute or relative shortage of the blood supply to an organ. Relative shortage means the mismatch of blood supply (oxygen delivery) and blood request for adequate oxygenation of tissue.
Ischemia can also be described as an inadequate flow of blood to a part of the body, caused by constriction or blockage of the blood vessels supplying it. Ischemia of heart muscle produces angina pectoris.
This can be due to:
yeah, I'd like to know where it's mentioned in the bible. God isn't fuckin around with these sinners!
I can understand why people avoid christianity. The people who call themselves christians are sometimes the people who push people away from theism.
But at the same time, I don't think what your friend said should reflect back on the band. Your friend asked you not to say anything, not the band. I book shows and go to a lot of shows, and to be honest I usually can't tell what someone is screaming unless I know the lyrics beforehand.
How did the band shove their religion on you?
Let me tell you why I felt betrayed. Christianity, in my most honest opinion, does not have a place in (real) punk rock. Psuedo punk maybe. But this show was billed by a guy I trusted to bring something good, not once was it mentioned that all their songs were about god and the bibull. But the funny thing was the band that played next were friends of mine and I told them about there being a "xtain punk band" before them. They laughed about it and played songs against religion. So I didn't leave too pissed off, mostly sad for any teen that goes to see shows like that looking for direction and reality, like I did when I was having xtianity shoved down my throat.
I understand what you mean. Good punk shouldn't be about worshipping some bloke in the sky. I'm not really bothered about there being Christian messages or whatever in music. I love Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and almost every subsequent cover of it (except the one in Shrek). In fact I play that song regularly at gigs and open mics alongside my own choons.
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This is an interesting ethical situation: Is the band lying to the general public, or to God? I would answer both. It's like an argument I've heard from fundamentalists that once you reach level 33 degree mason that you discover that all this time you've been worshipping Satan. Which is a totally bogus statement, you can't UNKNOWINGLY worship something - it takes focus and emotional charge. And it's a similar principle here. If they think they are going to win converts this way they are sadly mistaken ("Muhahaha! They don't know we're singing about Jesus!"
One of my favourite stories was a friend of mine telling me about the first time he took acid was at a metal concert that included Stryper...THAT would have been a messed up night.
I'm not a real fan of punk, but it still leaves me feeling a little dirty that the faithful have infiltrated that particular sub-culture.
What were their songs about?
I'm still wondering how they were shoving their religion down everyone's throats. I'm not trying to be an ass, I'm just curious.
Actually you couldn't make out the lyrics.
Sounded like a lot of screaming. But since I'm the type to actually find out about what bands are all about, like for instance "heapofashes" I know that this is probably your band or you are a fan of theirs (yet more dishonesty on your part)...I just think that when you are billed for a show maybe you should put on the flyer, "hardcore xtian punk rock". At least it wouldn't have people in the audience being duped. It's dishonest. There is no such thing as christian punk rock. I guess I'm just too old school for what you guys will let infiltrate pure, raw reality.
When you sing so obscurly people can't understand you consciously, they absorb you subconsciously. If someone's going to a metal concert and hearing christian metal instead, that's not really what you're paying for.
It's like going to a movie to get away from your kids for a few hours and relax and having the movie constantly telling you, "You need to spend all your time taking care of your kids."
Or another way, is having purposfully underlying messages you don't notice telling you, "You need to spend all your time taking care of your kids."
Although, I think if I enjoyed their music, I wouldn't care what it was about IMO - It's still dishonest to call your music unthemed metal or insinuating it is and having it themed toward irrational faith based thinking.
Sort of like asking questions you already know the answer to. That's like acting ignorant to something and pretending to be someone you're not. It's dishonesty. Say for instance, if you already knew what their music was like or lets say hipothetically you were a band member or fan asking, "What's their music like?".
I'm just not a big fan of dishonesty. Why can't they come right out and be open with their music?
"I boot religious people religiously."
interesting that a "christian" band would supposedly be hiding their message, but i have a theory. i played in metal/punk bands around the midwest for about 15 years, and it was common knowledge that many very talented musicians would become frustrated with their lack of commercial success and would resort to the "christian rock" scene, because it was a guaranteed gig. you know, youth groups, spiritual camp getaways, christian rallies where they roll the kids in in buses. it was a steady paycheck with a captive audience, but the catch was that the bands/musicians lost all respect in the normal music scene, they were seen as sell-outs.
your friend's band may have been trying to slip out of the christian market for a little integrity building performance. they've had it with playing church picnics and want to start playing real clubs for real music fans.
but that's just a theory. probably full of gaps. that could be plugged with god. just kidding.
www.derekneibarger.com http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=djneibarger "all postures of submission and surrender should be part of our prehistory." -christopher hitchens
yeah, i do vox for ischemia. But I don't understand why we're being accused of shoving religion down your throat. Or being deceptive. The 6 people in the band are christians. But no one ever came to us and asked "Hey, are you guys christians?" If you had, we would have talked openly about it.
But maybe we don't announce it because if we did, then everyone else would accuse us of shoving religion down their throats. We're not playing music to throw our beliefs on everyone else. We don't even play "punk rock". And every one of the bands that played that night, were our close friends. We don't care if they sing about god or satan or beer or church or sex or religion. Because music isn't about trying to convert people, it's simply about the music. You don't even know what we sing about. But shame on us for playing music to a crowd of mostly our friends. I guess we'll have to keep our music locked up behind church doors. Then we'll be guilty of being unloving asshole christians who won't spend their oh so holy time with mere sinners, right?
give me a break.
Ha! This explains your myspace answer of getting rid of Christian punk music.
I was wondering what the story behind that was.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
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i don't recall saying anything about keeping your music "locked up behind church doors". actually i don't think i said anything about what you should or shouldn't do. i just said you were probably a christian band trying to reach a different audience. so i was slightly off, you were trying to reach your friends. big deal. want a medal?
www.derekneibarger.com http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=djneibarger "all postures of submission and surrender should be part of our prehistory." -christopher hitchens
I'm sure you would. Is the message of a blood hungry, unjust, maniac what you really want to stand for? How about standing up for reality. How about standing up for life? Dogma is no reason to get up and scream on stage. It's fucking everywhere. I don't want to hear it. I'd have gotten my 5 bucks back had my friends not played. BTW, Larry and his Flask are my personal friends. I could be wrong but before that night they didn't know you guys. I'm pretty sure they didn't.
Whatever. I already said there's no such thing as xtian punk rock.
I already addressed that above. But just to reiterate, I think you aren't being honest there.
Ok. Look. A friend of yours came to me and said, "This is a xtian band and all there songs are about god. Shhh...don't tell anyone." She told the wrong person. I hate lies. I hate deceit. It complicates everything. Just come straight out and say it. Don't hide what you are about. If it's just music then that's fine.
So, you tell me, if you'd be so kind, what is your music all about?
Do you understand the difference between those two quotes?
Their / We're
In simpler explaination, you were attempting to be deceptive. So really, you're not being accused of being deceptive, you were being deceptive until Martha busted you and informed me to make the vivid post which you so cleaverly decrypted as an "accusation" and not a sarcastic ridicule of your own childish games.
Now, as a Christian, will you be confessing the sin of lying? Or will you chalk it up to a morally rightous thing to do and suspect your god Yahweh will shrug your sin off his shoulder and let that sin slide? And if so, does that still make him Just?
"I boot religious people religiously."